Rear curtain operator device



Aug. 25, 1931. a. J. WRIGHT 1,320,292

REAR CURTAIN OPERATOR DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 19:50 "2 Shets-Sheet 1 Aug. 25, 1931.

G. J. WRIGHT REAR CURTAIN OPERATOR DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1930 Patented Au 25, 1931.

, 'iononon J.' wm w, or} nos'ro v, Mlrssiloniisnrtrs, .essreivoni ,To MARY .w niogiinfor QUINCY, ivrAssaorrusnrrrs BrianouIurAnv OPERATOR niivion iY Application fil ed" September 25, 1930. Serial No. 484,346.

i--.The present invention, whichis an improvement on that disclosed in my United States Letters Patent 1,7 49,621, dated March 4, 1930, has-forits-object the provision of g a very simple device located within convenient reach ofthe'driver of a motor vehicle for raising and lowering the rear curtain thereof without causing the overrunning of the curtain in either direction.

It will be obvious that a device of this character in order tobe practicable must be so constructed thatthe driver shall be able to raise and lower the curtain without having his attention distracted. In my patent 1 aforesaid, I have shownan arrangement of gearing for connecting the operatingcrank to the flexible shaft which actuates the curtain, together with an adjustable stop mechanism whereby several turns of the crank I in one direction will raise the curtain and several in the opposite direction W111 lower 1t,

' without overruning. In order to reducethe expense of manufacture in the rear-curtain operator-device, I have eliminated the gear- :125 ing whereby the crank is indirectly connected to the flexible shaft, and have arranged matters so that said'crank is directly connected to I said shaft without the interposition of gearing, and at the same time have provided an adjustable stop mechanism whereby several turns of the crankin one direction will en able the driver to raise the curtain, and sev-.

eral in the other will enable him to lower it,

without giving any thought whatever to the r operation, the arrangement being such-that when the rotation of the crank is stopped in one direction the driver will know that the curtain is down to its full extent, and when it is brought toa stop in the opposite 4p direction, that it has been completely rolled Oneembodiment of my invention which has given excellent {results in practiceis shown in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of a two-seated automobile provided. with my improved rear-curtain operator-device;

device :'Fig 2 is a side elevation of saidoperator Fig. 3 is a transversersection taken on Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section taken on theline 44 of Fig. 3 j

Fig. 5' is a. longitudinal-section taken on the line 5-5 of.Fig. 2. a v

In the particular drawings, selected for morefully disclosing the principle oftmy in vention, 10 is arear-curtain roller havinga curtain 11- rolled thereon andmounted Lin, the brackets 12,12, said curtain being guided in its travel by the rings 13; '13'wl1ich move along the cords 14, '14 stretched parallel to the sides .of the rear window'15. ,i A' flexible shaft 16 enclosed within a suitable tubular ent instancebeing illustrated asatrunnion 12 andrigidly connected in any suitable mancasing 17 is operatively connectedrwith the curtain roller, such connection: in the pres er to said-shaft, said. trunnion 'havingztwo I pins 19 projecting from the plate 20 which is integral therewith and taking into-sockets ,inhthe, end ofthe; plate 21; of the curtain roller. It is'to be understood,;however, that I do not limitinyself to this particular mech: lanismv for ,adjustably connecting therearward endof said shaft to thecurtain roller.

Locatedwithin convenient reach ofvthe driver isga; support 22 for{ the forward end of theflexib'le shaftQandjfor .the-crank 23,

the said support consisting in'the present instance ofa box-like housing attachable to the wallof the. car by the flanges 24:. The forand entersa bore in th e inner endof the threaded stud 26, being securely {attached to award end of theshaft 16 hasits bearing in the. bushing'25 secured the side wallof said housing, and after passing throughsaid' bushing said'shaft makes an angular turn 2 t said stud in any suitable manner The stud 26jli'as, threaded engagement to a portion of bushing 27 which is attachedto the front wall v j I H95, pport, ,viz, the nteriorly thread d e a ing member 28 secured at or near the inner end thereof. 7

The operating crank herein shown as having threaded engagement with the outer end of the stud 26 is adjustably attached to said stud in any suitable manner, so that'when so attached, it will be directly connected to the flexible shaft as distinguished from being connected indirectly thereto through interposition of hearing or the like. In the present instance a set-screw 29 passing through the boss of said crank is employed for securingdthe crank in adjusted position to said stu The operation is as follows: With the shaft disconnected from the curtain roller, the curtain is rolled up by hand and then the crank is turned so as to bring the abutment 28 against the face of the bushing 27. The shaft is then coupled to the curtain roller and the righthand bracket 12 secured in position, and then the crank is rotated in the opposite direction until the curtain is unrolled sufficiently to cover the rear window, thereupon the set-screw 29 is loosened and the crank adjusted on the stud 26 so that the inner face of the crank boss 30 abuts the outer face of the bushing 27 when the setscrew is again tightened and the crank thereby secured in its adjusted position on said stud. When the crank is so adjusted in the manner above set forth, several turns in one direction will roll up the curtain, further rotation after said curtain has been rolled up being prevented by the abutment 28 coming against the inner face of the bushing 27, and several turns in the opposite direction will unroll the curtain sufliciently to cover the window without any overrunning, further rotation in the last mentioned direction being prevented by the inner face of the boss 30 coming into contact with the outer face of the bushing 27,

Having thus described an illustrative embodiment of my invention without however limiting the same thereto, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An automobile rear-curtain operatingdevice comprising in combination a rear window curtain roller, a flexible driving shaft, a coupling between one end of said shaft and said roller, a crank connected directly and adjustably to the other end of said shaft, said crank being located within convenient reach of the driver, and means for limiting the amount of rotation of said crank.

2. An automobile rear-curtain operatingdevice comprising in combination a rear window curtain roller, a flexible shaft operatively connected at its rearward end to said roller, a support for the forward end of said shaft, a stud having threaded engagement with said support and rigidly connected to the forward ends of said shaft, said stud extending through said support and having an abutment on the inner end thereof, a crank, and means adjustably securing said crank to the outer end of said stud.

3. An automobile rear-curtain operatingdevice comprising in combination, a rearwindow curtain roller, a flexible shaft, a

coupling between the rearward end of said GEORGE J. WRIGHT. 

